1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, and particularly, to an LCD device capable of reducing a display area thereof by minimizing an outer region by forming a part of a gate driving pattern in a frame region of a display unit.
2. Background of the Invention
Recently, various portable electric devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistant (PDA), and note book computers have been developed, because of their small size, light weight, and power-efficient operations. Accordingly, flat panel display devices, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma display panels (PDPs), field emission displays (FEDs), and vacuum fluorescent displays (VFDs), have been developed. Of these flat panel display devices, the LCDs are currently massively produced because of their simple driving scheme and superior image quality.
The LCD device serves to display an image by forming a liquid crystal (LC) layer by injecting LC between two substrates facing each other, and then by applying an electric field to the LC layer. According to the electric field, LC molecules are differently aligned, by which optical transmittance is controlled.
The LCD device comprises an LC panel having an LC layer between two substrates, and having an electrode for applying an electric field to the LC layer; a back light serving as an optical source, for supplying light to the LC panel and controlling an optical amount according to arrangement of LC modules; and a driving unit disposed at an outer side of the LC panel, for driving the LC panel by applying a signal to the electrode of the LC panel.
The driving unit is implemented as a printed circuit board (PCB). And, the printed circuit board is classified into a gate PCB connected to gate lines of the LC panel, and a data PCB connected to data lines of the LC panel. The gate PCB and the data PCB are mounted to a gate pad unit and a data pad unit, respectively, in the form of a tape carrier package (TCP). Here, the gate pad unit is disposed on a side surface of the LC panel, and connected to the gate lines. And, the data pad unit is disposed on an upper surface of the LC panel intersecting with the side surface where the gate pad unit is formed, and connected to the data lines.
However, when the gate PCB and the data PCB are mounted to the gate pad unit and the data pad unit, respectively, the entire volume and weight are increased. Recently, is being widely used a portable multimedia device serving as both an image device and a sound device. The multimedia device has a screen larger than that of the conventional portable device such as a portable phone. According to this recent trend, required is a method for reducing the entire size and weight of a multimedia device with increasing a size of a screen to display an image.
Under this situation, has been proposed an LCD device having a gate in panel (GIP) structure in which the gate PCB and the data PCB are integrated as one unit to be mounted to one surface of the LC panel.
FIG. 1 is a view of an LCD device 10 having a GIP structure in accordance with the conventional art. The LCD device 10 has not only the GIP structure, but also a frame function to enhance an image quality by representing set colors at a frame region on a screen.
Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional LCD device 10 comprises a display region 20 for substantially implementing an image; a frame region 30 disposed outside the display region 20, for generating a frame effect in the display region 20 by displaying a color having a set brightness; and an outer region 40 formed outside the frame region 30 and provided with a gate driving circuit and a data driving circuit, for applying a signal onto the display region 20.
The frame region 30 displays a color of a predetermined brightness, and serves to distinguish the display region 20 and the outer region 40 from each other. The frame region 30 enables an image displayed on the display region 20 to be recognized by a viewer more clearly, and enhances the entire image quality of the LCD device 10. However, the frame region 30 is not a region where an image is substantially implemented. The LCD device 10 of FIG. 1 includes the frame region 30 and the outer region 40 where an image is not substantially implemented. Accordingly, the conventional LCD device 10 has a limitation in minimizing an entire area which influences on the entire size of a portable electronic device.